Manifest Differently Podcast

Why Traditional Manifestation Falls Short for Neurodivergent Thinkers

• Carissa Andrews • Season 1 • Episode 1

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If traditional manifestation advice has ever made you feel “off,” frustrated, or like something must be wrong with you, this episode will be a game-changer. 🎙

Welcome to the Manifest Differently Podcast! In this very first episode, Carissa Andrews dives deep into why mainstream manifestation teachings often fail neurodivergent thinkers—and how you can turn your overthinking, emotional waves, and creative mind into your biggest manifestation superpowers.

✨ In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

  • Why staying “positive 24/7” is not only unrealistic but harmful—and what to do instead.
  • How to use your overthinking to strategize and refine your goals like a pro.
  • The science behind manifestation (quantum physics, nervous system alignment, and neuroplasticity) and how it works for neurodivergent minds.
  • A powerful grounding breathwork exercise to regulate your nervous system and realign your energy for manifestation.

Your neurodivergence isn’t a block—it’s a gift. Let’s rewrite the rules of manifestation and learn how to create your reality in a way that works for YOU.

🧘‍♀️ Ready to manifest differently? Tune in, breathe deep, and discover how to turn your unique way of thinking into your manifestation magic.


👉 Subscribe to the Manifest Differently Podcast and join Carissa over on Substack at https://manifestdifferently.substack.co

What if manifestation wasn’t about hustle or high vibes only — but about working with your neurodivergent brain, not against it? Enter Write Your Reality — a quantum, nervous-system-friendly guide (written for authors but 🔥 for ND creators and entrepreneurs, too). We’re launching it through Kickstarter April 14–May 11.
👑 Back it (or bookmark it): https://authorrevolution.org/kickstarter

Ready to release scarcity & receive differently?

The Aureya Field is a 3-part energetic journey designed to help you clear outdated money codes, rewire your nervous system for support, & embody a new frequency of abundance rooted in soul-truth—not hustle.

Inside, you'll receive:
✨ The Aureya Manifesto
✨ A Reiki-infused Activation
✨ A full Transmutation Healing & Recoding

Download it now at ManifestDifferently.

Traditional manifestation advice wasn’t made for neurodivergent minds. Inside Manifest Differently on Substack, I share exclusive insights, nonlinear success strategies, and deep-dive content designed for ND thinkers. Plus, get access to Manifest Differently: The Deep End, my private podcast for paid subscribers. Follow now: 👉 manifestdifferently.com/substack

Thank you so much for tuning in to this episode of the Manifest Differently Podcast. I hope today’s story inspired you to trust the process and manifest in a way that feels aligned with your unique energy.

If you’re ready to dive deeper into neurodivergent-friendly manifestation techniques, head over to ManifestDifferently.com for resources, tools, and more. Want even more insights? Subscribe to my Substack at manifestdifferently.substack.com/subscribe for weekly inspiration straight to your inbox.

And let’s connect on TikTok! Follow me at @ManifestDifferently for behind-the-scenes tips, quick mindset shifts, and so much more.

Until next time, remember: you have the power to manifest differently—and the universe is waiting to conspire in your favor. See you next week!
Carissa Andrews:

Welcome to Manifest Differently, the podcast for neurodivergent thinkers and anyone looking to approach manifestation in a way that truly works for them. I'm your host, carissa Andrews, here to explore the science, energy and strategies that will help you create the life you love. Let's dive in and Manifest Differently. Welcome to the very first episode of the Manifest Differently podcast. I'm your host, carissa Andrews, and I am so excited to start this journey with you. So if you're new here, which obviously most of you are, let me share a little bit about myself.

Carissa Andrews:

I'm an author with over 30 books published across three different pen names. I'm a manifestation and life coach and a lifelong explorer of the mind-body connection. I've spent years blending neuroscience, quantum physics and spiritual principles to help people unlock their potential, and after realizing that I share some autistic and ADHD traits with my son, everything about my approach to manifestation began to shift. I saw how traditional advice really falls short for neurodivergent thinkers like me, and I knew I wasn't alone, because many of my students over at Author Revolution felt the same. So that's why I've decided 2025 is the year to launch the Neurodivergent Manifestor brand and the Manifest Differently podcast, because we need to create a space where all of us can embrace our unique strengths and learn to manifest in ways that actually work for us. So today I get to do something really incredible.

Carissa Andrews:

We're going to dive into this big question that has probably crossed your mind if you've ever struggled with manifestation why does traditional advice fall short for neurodivergent thinkers and what can we do differently? Now, stick with me, because at the end of this episode, you'll understand not just why, but also how you can turn your neurodivergence into your biggest strength. And if you're not neurodivergent and you're landing on this episode just wondering if this is about manifesting in new ways, trust me when I say absolutely, even if you are not neurodivergent yourself, I want you to open your mind, listen to some of the advice that's happening through here, because either number one, you're going to find something that's brand new. You're going to think about things, about manifestation, in a new way that you've never even considered. Or you might just find out that you have some neurodivergent tendencies as well, because a law of attraction brings likes to likes, and if you found me, if you're here wanting to do something differently, you just might share some similarities with me. Wanting to do something differently, you just might share some similarities with me. All right.

Carissa Andrews:

So before we dive in, let's take a moment to reset and ground ourselves. This is a super huge part of manifestation, the way that I teach it, because I have found over the years that we do not put enough emphasis on our nervous systems when it comes to manifestation, when it comes to living our best lives, when it comes to being the best version of ourselves. So our manifestations all come from that aligned nervous system. Our thoughts impact our nervous system and when we are out of alignment, things go a little bit haywire. That's our first step. That's our first clue that maybe we're not quite in that aligned space.

Carissa Andrews:

Yeah, so, every single episode, we're going to do this energy reset because I want you to remember who you are, okay. So, wherever you are, I want you to sit comfortably and take a deep breath in through your nose and exhale slowly through your mouth. And if you can try to go slow, like a count for five in and a count for five out, that's called the ocean breath. And if you constrict the back of your throat just a little bit, letting the air flow over your tongue, it really causes that ocean breath that yogis call the ocean breath. Okay, so let's do that two more times. Inhale, call the ocean breath, okay. So let's do that two more times. Inhale, hold for a very brief moment and exhale back out. And because I love doing things in threes, let's do it one more time. Inhale in and exhale out, and exhale out. Now, as you breathe, naturally, I want you to notice the points of contact between your body and the surface that you're on, okay, feel the stability beneath you and, even if it's at your feet or if you're sitting in a chair, this grounding helps your nervous system shift into a state where you can focus and engage fully and, if you can wiggle about just a little bit, release some of the extra tension, the extra energy that's in your body. We all get that right and unclench your jaw. All right, now we're ready to start.

Carissa Andrews:

So let's talk about this manifestation thing. Manifestation, for those of you who are new to this concept, or maybe you've talked about it or heard about it for a long time many people think about it in this very woo concept, right, but manifestation is about turning thoughts into reality by aligning our beliefs that's, our thoughts, right Our energy, which means our nervous system alignment and then taking actions, inspired actions that will get us the results that we're looking for. Now. It is not just woo-woo, it's rooted in science. So here's how it works.

Carissa Andrews:

So, for those of you who aren't familiar with the rabbit holes that I've gone down my entire life, the first one is quantum physics. Okay, now, quantum physics states that everything is energy. At the very subatomic particle level, everything is vibrating, and so when we were like, oh, it's got good vibes Literally, that's what we mean. There are vibrations and frequencies all around us and in us and through us, and the observer effect. It shows us that focused attention can influence our outcomes and does influence our outcomes in every way. And we'll nerd out, trust me, on all that in coming episodes, but for right now, just know that there are quantum physics aspects that tie to manifestation.

Carissa Andrews:

But it doesn't just end there, okay, neuroscience also ties to everything. So many things about neuroscience connect, but my favorite one is the reticular activating system. Now, this is a part of your brain that acts as a filter, okay, and it helps you notice opportunities that are aligned with your dominant thoughts. Now, we can use that to our advantage. Or, most of the time, we're setting ourselves up to be in a bit of a rut because we're noticing when things aren't working, for whatever reason, we like to focus and ruminate on those things that aren't working right as humans not just neurodivergent thinkers, but people in general but there's very awesome ways to be able to train our reticular activating system Again. We will be discussing all of these fun things in later podcast episodes, but I just want you to have food for thought.

Carissa Andrews:

In addition, there's also neuroplasticity. So neuroplasticity helps us when we are repeating thought patterns that create new neural pathways, and this shapes how we interact with the world. Now, neuroplasticity just basically means that we can create and wire together new thoughts, new ways of thinking. We can grow new neural networks, and that's super important, because when we are stuck in old modalities of thinking, we're going to keep receiving the same manifestational results, and so in order for us to receive the things that we really want to change the identity of who we are we have to create those new neural pathways. That means becoming a new version of ourselves before the manifestation can actually come into our lives, and a lot of that stuff really comes from having different thoughts.

Carissa Andrews:

We just have to think a little bit differently before those things can come in, and we do this all the time it's not as hard or as difficult as it sounds. We do it all the time from like okay, our favorite coffee no longer is available, so we have to pick a new coffee brand Now. This might be a forced outcome, a forced thing from outside of ourselves, but we still make the decision to shift, to do something different, and the second you start doing that. Now you're living in a different version of your reality, and when I first started exploring this concept of manifestation, I really followed traditional advice. I'm a double Virgo, like I will take anything that people tell me and I'm going to start implementing it to the best of my ability. But when I see things that don't make sense, when I think things that are like I would like to understand this deeper, I go down that rabbit hole. So if you don't feel inclined to go as deep down the rabbit hole, be happy, be welcoming to this concept because I've done it for you. Okay, so I followed the traditional advice. You know the visualizations, the affirming, the trying to stay positive, 24, seven.

Carissa Andrews:

But as a neurodivergent thinker, I really struggled with these rigid methods because there were days where my energy wasn't up there and it wasn't high. There were times where I was like this isn't coming to me as fast as I feel like it should be. And it wasn't until I started reframing manifestation through the lens of my neurodivergence that things started to click. So, for example, instead of fighting my overthinking, I began to use and create vivid, detailed visualizations and strategic plans in my mind. I would see how things are all clicking together. I would feel the feelings of everything being in place and the shift was transformational. But not just that. It wasn't just my future casting that helped. It was also being able to give myself permission to feel my feelings when they arose. So those feelings of frustration when things aren't working out, those feelings of why am I still stuck in this place? Why do I keep repeating this cycle, all of that sort of energy acknowledging that it was there for a reason helped me to understand and work through all of those feelings that were coming up.

Carissa Andrews:

As someone who felt like I have this, I understand this on a very deep level, probably deeper than most people understand it. Why is this not working for me? Allowing myself that 90 seconds to just drop in and go? Okay, I'm feeling really frustrated right now. Where is it coming from? How did this thought process start and allowing the biochemical release kind of flush itself through my system and going. You know, there's nothing wrong with me for being here. There's nothing wrong with being frustrated. This is just where I'm at right now, and it's okay, because clarity is on the other side. Right, and when that happens, all of a sudden, we're able to no longer vilify our emotions, no longer vilify like where we're coming from, but we also are able to manifest much more calmly because nothing is off limits. There's no version of yourself that you can't be.

Carissa Andrews:

So I want to do a little bit of myth busting or debunking here, and I want to talk about the most common manifestation myths that I've seen over the years. So, like I said, I've been teaching manifestation for authors for over three years. I've actually been teaching authors in general since 2017. Earlier than that, when it comes to like just locally and before I knew I was even becoming a teacher, but at the same time, manifestation, I've seen these patterns going over and over again for my students. Okay, so the first one is you have to stay positive all the time.

Carissa Andrews:

Now, like I just said, that is not the case, because you do need to feel your feelings. They're there for a reason. They are your internal guidance system. Okay, this is not just unrealistic, but it's also harmful, because, for neurodivergent individuals who experience natural emotional waves, we need to feel those feelings. We have to allow ourselves the time to process, without judgment of ourselves, so that we can move through the cycle of whatever it is that we're feeling and recalibrate. Those emotions are there, giving us context and clarity around what we do want, and the reason they come up in those like those denser emotions is because we know now, okay, my internal guidance, my emotional system, is calibrated to be a different direction.

Carissa Andrews:

I'm feeling frustrated because this is not working for me in the way that I originally intended, but it could just mean that we are not in alignment for that thing. It could mean that our subconscious mind knows greater than what we are allowing ourselves to perceive. It could mean the quantum field, the universe, god, if that's what you want to call it is all guiding us to a different location, to a different way of being. And so when we can open ourselves up and just allow those waves of energy to roll through us and give ourselves the moments to rest and reflect, knowing that they're a part of the process, everything becomes an easier flow. We're able to just release it and not hold it into our bodies.

Carissa Andrews:

So often we're holding thoughts of judgment, of self-loathing, of you know all of the. We're telling ourselves these stories that just aren't productive for us, and we're doing it because we ourselves are not allowing the natural flows of who we are. And so, when we can trust that we are having these emotions for a reason, we know that we can guide ourselves back to happier emotions, happier times, and just asking ourselves what is this emotion trying to teach me? Right now you can get way more clarity, way more out of it and be way more in tune with who you actually are, than if you just try to stuff it down and tell yourself that you're not feeling those feelings, or you shouldn't be feeling those feelings, when in actuality you're feeling them for a reason. So what is that reason?

Carissa Andrews:

Okay, so myth number two is clear your mind to manifest. Now. I've been meditating for a long time. I have gotten to the point where I can most days turn off the crazy fest that goes on in my head. But that took some time and I can tell you right now, living in a household of neurodivergent thinkers most of the people in this house do not have that capacity. My husband, for one, does not have the capacity to stop his brain from going 24-7. My son, who has been diagnosed officially with autism and ADHD, he cannot do it either.

Carissa Andrews:

And so for many of us, it really does feel impossible to clear your mind in order to manifest, because our minds are naturally busy and that's okay, right, it's a superpower in a sense, because there's so much that we are thinking about and looking for patterns and doing all the things. So, instead of trying to always clear your mind, focus on channeling your thoughts toward creative problem solving or detailed goal mapping, because when you do that, all of a sudden you're putting your mind to work. Like what if you're? If you were living your ideal life right now, if you were already on the other side of this hump, if the problem that you're perceiving right now didn't exist anymore, how would you be feeling? What would you be thinking? How would you be behaving? Would those worried thoughts that you're having right now even be a thing? And the reason why that's important is because you're setting yourself up vibrationally to receive that thing you want when you can feel the feelings and lock into the vibration of what it would be like on the other side of that thing. You're no longer activating the frequencies of the problem, you're no longer activating the frequencies of all the things that are, you know, your big hurdles, those things that you're trying to get over, because usually when we're manifesting, we're coming at it from I don't have this thing and I want it, so how do I bring it to me? But in reality, we have it all the time. We can access it whenever we'd like. It's just we ourselves have to get out of our own way, right, and we'll go into many of the strategies on this in later episodes.

Carissa Andrews:

Like I said, there's a lot I want to cover, a lot I want to be able to give you, but this is just kind of like the teensiest tip of the iceberg, so that you can kind of see where I'm going with this podcast. Yeah, okay. So myth number three overthinking is a block, okay. So first of all, you'll get to know this pretty quickly.

Carissa Andrews:

I am not a fan of the term block. I'm not. I absolutely despise it. I absolutely despise it. To me, there is no such thing as a block. There is resistance, absolutely, but it's not a block in terms of like oh, this thing that I can't get past. Because when we put something in those types of black and white terms especially for neurodivergent thinkers now all of a sudden it's like how do I get over this? There must be something outside of myself blocking me from having the thing that I want, and that's not how it works. The resistance comes from inside of us, and the resistance is I want this thing, but I don't think I can have it. So it's up to us, then, to bridge that gap. What is the thing causing the resistance? And is it a belief there that is keeping us held back? Because we are afraid of being seen, afraid of being hurt, afraid of being rejected? There's usually an emotional tie to something, or is it? I'm not ready yet. I want this thing to go really well, and it's almost like you pulling back the bow strings so that when you do release it, when you do finally let it go, you can send that arrow way further than if you were just like hey man, here I am, this is awesome. Do you get what I'm saying there?

Carissa Andrews:

Because sometimes we have to have a little bit of resistance in order to, number one, manifest what we truly want. I mean, think about it, if you manifested every thought you had, like that, oh, that sounds like it would be good. But there's probably a few things where you're like if it was an instantaneous manifestation place, we'd be in trouble. We'd be in big, big trouble. And so there's this lag time through, the resistance aspect of it, that we have to trust that there is this divine timing within us. It doesn't have to be without us and like the outside of us, we are the co-creators, we are the ones creating this reality. And when we are able to realize that any kind of quote unquote block is really just us adding resistance so that we can get really clear on what we want, things change right. So when we reframe this overthinking and turn it into an asset, all of a sudden things shift a bit. So I want you to think of it as your ability to troubleshoot potential challenges and refine your vision with precision. That's what this overthinking thing can actually help you do.

Carissa Andrews:

So the key is to pair this with action, even if it's just a small step and for me, I don't usually have trouble taking action. If you like personality tests, if you go down those rabbit holes like I do, I'm a high activator, like a number two activator in the CliftonStrengths okay, and so for me activation is not a problem, but my strategic is also like the same level. So strategic and activation are the same number in my whole thing. And what happens is sometimes I take action before I've really gone through the strategic well enough, and so I sometimes act before I've got the whole plan, and that does not always help me. So what I've been learning about myself, what I've been doing as a manifester who is neurodivergent and planning out things and understanding myself better, is learning to be more strategic and then taking the action.

Carissa Andrews:

There's a little bit of that ADHD thing too going on, where you know, I come up with an idea and it's really cool and I have a lot of energy and excitement to do this thing, and then I'm afraid that if I don't take action now I'm going to forget to do it or I'm going to lose momentum. Do you guys ever feel that? So there's a little bit of that that I struggle with and I have to let go of and trust that. No, it's still going to be the next logical step as I create and redefine and get everything put together for the strategy, that thing that I'm afraid I'm going to forget. It's going to come back up again and it's going to have its time in the light. So sometimes that's the way it's got to be. And knowing how our brains work, knowing how we tend to go through different cycles, is so powerful, because it helps us to see ourselves in a new light, in a way that helps us to manifest, to create and, you know, rework and get into the code of humanity and the code of reality in a way that is just going to help us to reality hack. I love that concept of reality hacking is so good.

Carissa Andrews:

Okay, so let's take a minute here. This is going to be something I'd like to include every single week, every single time we do this podcast. We're going to take what I like to call the manifest differently minute Got a second, all right. I like to call the manifest differently minute Got a second, all right. So here's the manifest differently minute. There's a quick tip that I want you to think about If you're struggling with visualizing a big goal, break it down into smaller, more tangible pieces.

Carissa Andrews:

So I'm going to give you an example. Right, I come from the world of authorship. When we're trying to create books, when we're writing books, it can be very daunting, especially if you're brand new, or especially if you've got a deadline coming up and you know you have to get this book done and it has to be 80,000 words, for instance. The goal here isn't to go oh my gosh, this thing is massive, how am I going to get this done? The goal is really to focus on visualizing the next step rather than the entire journey. So I teach authors all the time how to break that 80,000 words down into smaller, more manageable goals, how to use six week writing sprints, for instance, in order to write the entire thing but still feel aligned and sustainable with the rest of your life. Because, let's face it, you can't just be writing all the time. And so when we look at their goals, whatever it might be, and we give ourselves those smaller steps or just trust that this next step is coming, it reduces the overwhelm and it makes our manifestations feel so much more achievable.

Carissa Andrews:

So think about your big goal right now. What is it that you want to bring in? Are you trying to manifest your perfect career, your house, your significant other, like? Whatever it is? What is that big thing that you're trying to call in? And then what are the steps that typically you would need to take to get there? Now, if you're brand new and you're trying to manifest something and you have no clue how it's going to come together, how it could possibly come together, then your job is to really just sit with the energy of okay, this is this thing that I'm calling in. I want to manifest like here.

Carissa Andrews:

I'll give you the example of my son. He is 19 and he's moving to the Twin Cities. He's going to be going to the U of M this fall. He doesn't know what that's going to look like for him. He's never lived in any other place other than central Minnesota, which is where I'm from and like that's it. It's been a very small town, like there's not a lot of traffic, it's very easy to get to and from places, and he's moving to the Twin Cities. So this is going to be a brand new situation for him. It feels very massive and so for him, his goal is to just sit with.

Carissa Andrews:

When I get there, how do I want to feel? I want to feel like I can find an apartment really easily. I want to feel like that apartment's going to be nice and close to the you. I want to feel like it's easy to drive to and from places and that I can slowly but surely learn how to drive in more and more crazy environments. Whatever.

Carissa Andrews:

The biggest stressors, I think, is the part where we neurodivergents need to kind of play out and go okay. This part gets to be easy for us. This part gets to feel good. I get to take my time learning how to shift my vibration into a new place. Does that make sense? So what does that look like for you? And you don't have to know the steps other than right now. Your next step is to feel what you want to be feeling.

Carissa Andrews:

Once you have it, how does it get to feel for you?

Carissa Andrews:

How does that get to look for you?

Carissa Andrews:

What will you be doing? And like, take those little pieces and just enjoy it. Don't look at it from like, oh, this is how it's going to go and it's gonna be crazy and I'm so scared and the traffic's gonna be terrible, and like that's you manifesting what you don't want. All right, you want to manifest how you want to feel in advance of getting there. Now, he's not going to be there until this, like middle of the summer, because for him he's not going to school into the fall, and so it's all about him taking all this time visualizing what he gets to have, how it gets to work for him, and while he has a specific deadline, he knows that it's coming up, that he'll be moving sometime this summer. It's like he's got all this time now to visualize how it gets to flow for him.

Carissa Andrews:

So sometimes it's hard for us, when we don't have a specific deadline, to do that same manifestational process. So give yourself one right. Give yourself one that where you're like you know I'm going to manifest this thing that I really want by the summer or by two months from now, or whatever feels the most aligned for you. Like, if you start to feel a little icky, a little, I don't know how this is going to work for me stuff, pull back a little, make it a little bit more general, or do a timeframe that actually feels like it's aligned, like it, like it can be doable for you.

Carissa Andrews:

Your nervous system knows what you already believe and so it's up to you to just kind of lean into it. Like, what is it you already believe or what is it you're trying to shift your beliefs towards? And I'm going to talk about this over and over again. You're going to get used to it. But beliefs are just thoughts. You continue to think.

Carissa Andrews:

So if your belief system right now doesn't support that you could be a millionaire in a year, then what do you want to do? What kind of shifts can you make to your belief structure, to your belief systems, to get you to the point where you do believe it's possible? What do you need to learn? What do you need to let go of? What do you need to accept about yourself? Like there are so many different ways to be able to tap into the quantum field and pull things in in whatever manner that you want. It just gets to be easy when you allow it to be easy, when you allow yourself to shift into a place of ease and flow.

Carissa Andrews:

Okay, well, guys, that was the Manifest Differently Minute. It was probably way longer than a minute, but you get the point. So thank you so much for joining me today for episode one of the Manifest Differently Podcast. This has been a journey to get here and it's one that I can't wait to take with you. There's so much I want to talk about, so many things that we're going to have a joyous time exploring like get ready to go down some rabbit holes, because there are so, so many we can take. All right.

Carissa Andrews:

So remember your neurodivergence is not a block. We don't like blocks. It's actually your superpower is not a block. We don't like blocks, it's actually your superpower. Traditional advice might not work for you, but that's not a limitation. It's an opportunity to create something uniquely yours. Okay, so next week I'll share the story of my biggest manifestation, at least to date, and how it taught me to trust the process even when doubt crept in, even when things were going completely wonky wrong, even when I didn't think I would ever be able to change. So you won't want to miss it. Until then, I would love for you to join me on Substack. I have the Manifest Differently Substack over there so we can keep this conversation going. Together, we can rewrite the rules of manifestation. There's so much that we can do, and I'm looking forward to expanding this brand, to expanding this conversation, so that we can talk more about how neurodiversions manifest differently and why it's awesome that we do. Remember you have the power to create your own reality, so go out there and manifest differently.

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